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If fighters retired after losing to top fighters then there would be very little top boxers around, or compelling stories to tell about the rise, fall, and rise of a boxer. Whether it was a schooling, a savage KO, or a 12 round beating.
Manny Pacquiao got KO'ed twice by two nobodies and came back to become champion in 8 weight classes, including Lineal champion of 5 weight classes. And make not only a HOF career out of it, but also becoming a legendary ATG who will be spoken about for centuries.
Bernard Hopkins lost his first real test in Roy Jones Jr, and came back to make a HOF career winning titles at 160 and 175, becoming the Lineal/Ring champion in both weight classes and making defense records as well as breaking age barriers that will likely not be replicated within our lifetime.
Wladimir Klitschko was stopped 3 times in the first 8 years of his career, then changed his style and went on a 10 year, 22-fight win streak (19 title fights). He also won The Ring/Lineal championship where he defended it successfully 12 times, unified the IBF, WBO, and WBA titles and easily went from mediocre fighter to HOF fighter and surely makes the top 100 greatest fighters of all time with that run.
That's just off the top of my head. There's probably so many fighters who were whooped badly and came back to have a great career, that you can write a whole volume of books about it. Beatings can make you or break you. There's literally such a thing as learning from your mistakes/losses and using it to make a better you in the future.
Manny Pacquiao got KO'ed twice by two nobodies and came back to become champion in 8 weight classes, including Lineal champion of 5 weight classes. And make not only a HOF career out of it, but also becoming a legendary ATG who will be spoken about for centuries.
Bernard Hopkins lost his first real test in Roy Jones Jr, and came back to make a HOF career winning titles at 160 and 175, becoming the Lineal/Ring champion in both weight classes and making defense records as well as breaking age barriers that will likely not be replicated within our lifetime.
Wladimir Klitschko was stopped 3 times in the first 8 years of his career, then changed his style and went on a 10 year, 22-fight win streak (19 title fights). He also won The Ring/Lineal championship where he defended it successfully 12 times, unified the IBF, WBO, and WBA titles and easily went from mediocre fighter to HOF fighter and surely makes the top 100 greatest fighters of all time with that run.
That's just off the top of my head. There's probably so many fighters who were whooped badly and came back to have a great career, that you can write a whole volume of books about it. Beatings can make you or break you. There's literally such a thing as learning from your mistakes/losses and using it to make a better you in the future.
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